Just three episodes into Rivals Season 2, and Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) has delighted in tearing down MP Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell), using gossip journalist Beattie Johnson (Annabel Scholey) to air his scandalous past behavior. That ultimately led to Rupert, despite winning the election, resigning.
The two were rivals long before they were competing as Corinium (Tony) and Venturer (Rupert, though he was also kicked out of there after the exposé) for the TV franchise. And despite Tony telling his wife Monica (Claire Rushbrook) that he’d let their feud go in Episode 3, he “clearly” never can, says Tennant.
“The chip on Tony’s shoulder is the size of a small building. Tony’s never going to be able to give it up. Rupert is always going to represent all that Tony can never have or be. Rupert will trigger him until the day he dies. There’s just no getting around it,” he explains.
Tennant continues, “Rupert is charming, and everyone likes Rupert, and that’s the thing that Tony will never be able to get over because there’s nothing he can do about it. He can be as rich and powerful as he likes, but he will always be less appealing than Rupert.”
On Rupert’s side, however, “he’s never cared about it as much,” says Hassell. “That’s the part of Tony’s tragedy is that he’s absolutely obsessed with Rupert. And I think Rupert hates Tony and thinks he’s a total asshole, which he is, and that’s the way he acts.”
He adds, “He wants to bring Tony down because Tony is a bad person and he’s hurt people that he cares about and continues to do so. But I think it’s more one-sided really.”
If you ask the executive producers, it is very possible that we could see these two on the same side for something.
“We absolutely think there is an opportunity that somewhere down the line that Tony and Rupert could work together. Maybe they both would have different reasons to, but there might be a mutual kind of need to come together, an alliance,” says Alexander Lamb.
Adds Dominic Treadwell-Collins, “That’s what makes it interesting. You can’t just have them butting heads forever and ever because it would get repetitive. So we have to take them in new directions and in new places.”
Lamb points out, “Tony’s a great strategist, and so is Rupert through his sportsmanship. If they need each other to do something, then I think they would use each other.”
What are you hoping to see with Tony and Rupert’s rivalry this season? Let us know in the comments section below.
Rivals, Fridays, Hulu